In Connecticut, GOP Senate candidate McMahon says Obama falls ‘far short’ of expectations

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Senate candidate says Obama short of expectations

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — Senate Republican candidate Linda McMahon on Thursday described President Barack Obama as falling “far short” of the high expectations that attended his election, criticizing the chief executive as he lent Democratic rival Richard Blumenthal some campaign help.

Obama won this reliably Democratic state in 2008 with 61 percent of the vote. Now, 51 percent of voters disapprove of his job performance as president, according to a recent Quinnipiac University poll. Mindful of the state’s electoral history, McMahon offered a tempered view of the president in an interview with The Associated Press.

“I think President Obama, in my view, has fallen far short of what the expectation was when he became president. We are further in debt, our deficit has grown, unemployment has grown,” she said in her West Hartford campaign headquarters. “From a leadership perspective, I think he has fallen short.”

McMahon, a former wrestling executive, has pumped millions from her personal fortune into a contentious and tight Senate race with Blumenthal for the seat being vacated by retiring Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd.

Given the state’s political leanings, she was pushing ahead with a campaign designed to appeal to Democrats as well as Republicans. On Thursday evening, as Obama attends private fundraisers for Blumenthal in Stamford and for Democrats in Greenwich, she planned to visit the Spanish-American Merchants’ Association to talk about small businesses, then glad-hand at a town fair in Willimantic.

With faint praise for her opponent, she also plays on the theme of Blumenthal as the ultimate self-promoter.

“He seems to be a pretty nice guy. … I don’t know him personally. I know of him. I have certainly seen his picture in newspapers and quotes and all of the press releases that have gone out over the years,” she said. “He’s very well-known, recognized around the state.”

An environment that is punishing experience and ties to the establishment — traits Blumenthal does not deny — make it tough for the four-decade veteran of Connecticut politics. A Quinnipiac poll released Tuesday showed him with a 51 percent to 45 percent lead among likely voters. He had enjoyed a lead of 10 percentage points among registered voters in last month’s poll and had been 17 points up in July’s poll.

McMahon, whose family built massive wealth as owners of World Wrestling Entertainment, has pledged to spend $50 million on the race. She is blanketing the state with ads and packing mailboxes with fancy brochures. Blumenthal’s campaign officials acknowledge they can’t match that.

“I have established a record better than any amount of money,” Blumenthal said during an interview earlier this week. “We’ll raise what we need to raise.” He has told campaign volunteers, “The people of Connecticut want an election, not an auction.”

McMahon’s campaign retort: “This is an election, not a coronation. And Dick Blumenthal’s suggestion that voters can be bought is an insult,” said spokesman Shawn McCoy.

Blumenthal’s campaign is trying to counter McMahon’s topflight political machine with one-on-one campaigning and by highlighting his record of challenging special interests and fighting corruption as the state’s attorney general.

As he walked through the Taste of Danbury food festival last weekend, Blumenthal bought local barbecue sauce and promised young gymnasts he would come back and do handstands if he wins in November. He then talked about the state’s consumer protection work.

“I always watch him on Channel 8. I know Richard Blumenthal,” said Karen Ryan, a self-described Democrat from Derby. But she hinted at a problem he faces: Most voters know who he is, but few know much about the campaign he is running.

“Is Blumenthal a Democrat or a Republican?” Ryan asked.

(This version corrects that Stamford fundraiser is for Blumenthal and Greenwich fundraiser for Democrats.)